While working on the soundtrack for Doctor Zhivago, Maurice Jarre was asked by director David Lean to come up with a theme for the character of Lara, played by Julie Christie. Initially Lean had desired to use a well-known Russian song but could not locate the rights to it, and delegated responsibility to Jarre. After several unsuccessful attempts at writing it, Lean suggested to Jarre that he go to the mountains with his girlfriend and write a piece of music for her. Jarre says that the resultant piece was "Lara's Theme", and Lean liked it well enough to use it in numerous tracks for the film. In editing Zhivago, Lean and producer Carlo Ponti reduced or outright deleted many of the themes composed by Jarre; Jarre was angry because he felt that an over-reliance on "Lara's Theme" would ruin the soundtrack. Jarre's esthetic fears notwithstanding, the theme became an instant success and gained fame throughout the world. By special request of Connie Francis, Paul Webster later took the theme and added lyrics to it to create "Somewhere, My Love". Connie Francis, however, withdrew from the project when the lyrics were presented to her because she thought of them as too "corny". A few weeks later, Francis reconsidered her position and recorded the song nonetheless, but by then Ray Conniff had also recorded a version of his own, reaching #9 on the BillboardHot 100 chart in 1966. Conniff's version of the song also topped the "Easy listening" chart in the U.S. for four weeks. Despite Conniff's success, Francis also had her version released as a single, and although it failed to chart in the US, it became one of her biggest successes internationally, becoming one of the "Top 5" in territories such as Scandinavia and Asia. In Italy, her Italian version of the song, "Dove non so", became her last #1 success. Various other versions of it have since been released. British pianist, conductor, tenor saxophonist, violinist, clarinettist, arranger and composer Ronnie Aldrich covered the song as Ronnie Aldrich And His Two Pianos for his 1967 Decca LP "Two Pianos In Hollywood" under the title Lara's Theme. Italio-American tenor, Sergio Franchi covered the song as "Somewhere, My Love" in his 1967 RCA Victor album From Sergio – With Love. Harry James recorded a version on his album The King James Version. A music box plays "Lara's Theme" at the beginning of the film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Variations
On the soundtrack album for Zhivago, there is no one track listed as "Lara's Theme". A variation of the piece appears in numerous sections, however. Some tracks briefly cite it, while others are composed entirely from the motif. The orchestration is varied, most notably with balalaika and orchestra. One of the main reasons the theme is featured in so many tracks is that Lean had hired an impromptu balalaika orchestra from several Russian Orthodox Churches in Los Angeles; the musicians could only learn 16 bars of music at a time, and could not read written music. Edgar Stanistreet, a street musician from Philadelphia, claimed that he was asked to play the song over the telephone to an MGM executive, and was later taken into the studio to record. He was not credited, however. Tracks which feature it include :
1) Overture – a fast-paced march version of it plays during part of the pre-credits overture
2) Main Title – a significant portion of the Main Theme is devoted to "Lara's Theme"
3) Kontakion/Funeral Song – briefly cited at the end of the piece
12) After Deserters Killed The Colonel – again, a brief "quote" from it appears at the end of the song
14) Lara Says Goodbye To Yuri – The first extensive use of "Lara's Theme" is a sad version played with heavy balalaika and violin sections
24) Tonya and Yuri Arrive At Varykino – briefly cited in the middle of the track
27) Yuri and the Daffodils – plays during the "changing of seasons" part of the film, the monotonous winter theme builds into a full-fledged rendition of "Lara's Theme"
28) On A Yuriatin Street – a complete rendition with full orchestral backing
29) In Lara's Bedroom
30) Yuri Rides To Yuriatin
33) Yuri Is Escaping – a gloomy military march is punctuated by a quote from "Lara's Theme" which ultimately turns into a climax
37) Yuri Is Trying To Write
39) Lara Reads Her Poem
42) Then It's A Gift – very similar to "On A Yuriatin Street", a complete, triumphant final rendition of the song
This soundtrack also includes jazz, rock 'n' roll, and swing versions of "Lara's Theme" which were performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra between takes.
Charting versions
Ray Coniff had a US Top 10 hit with "Somewhere My Love" in 1966.
Roger Williams instrumental version of "Lara's Theme" reached #65 in 1966.
Red Steagall had a US Top 40 Country hit with "Somewhere My Love" in 1972.
Other vocal recordings
Vocal versions include recordings by Connie Francis, by The Ray Conniff Singers, by Ivan Rebroff in Russian and English and as well as Karel Gott and Peter Alexander in German as Weißt du, wohin. Tereza Kesovija sang it first in France, and then by :fr:John William|John William and by :fr:Compagnons de la Chanson|Les Compagnons de la Chanson. Tereza Kesovija, Nada Knežević and :sl:Marjana Deržaj|Marjana Deržaj also recorded Lara's Theme in Yugoslavia as Larina pjesma, Larina pesma and Larina pesem respectively. Andy Williams released a version in 1967 on his album, Born Free. In 1966 Mrs. Miller covered the song in her second Capitol Records album Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?
Legacy
A version of "Somewhere, My Love" is played in the elevator scene of the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. when Luigi teaches the Goombas to dance. Another version of the song is on the soundtrack of the 2018 film Ocean's 8.
